Page 1 of Zylonn's Human Bride
Chapter 1
Nova stared out the window at the brilliant night sky, thankful the most recent dust storm had lifted to reveal the moon and stars. She sniffled and covered her face in her hands, shedding quiet tears in the privacy of her bedroom. It was her last night on Earth and she didn’t want her family and friends to know how upset she was over leaving. Her throat burned, her tears kept falling, and her body heaved under the impact of her increasing sorrow.
I can’t believe this is finally happening.
If only she could slow time down. She would give anything for another week with her family and friends. But, tomorrow, she would board a Tarkkuan ship and leave the only home she had ever known. Her stomach flipped when she imagined becoming a complete stranger’s mate. And not just any stranger—but an alien.
She didn’t want to travel to a faraway planet and become the bride of a Tarkkuan male she’d never met, but she didn’t have a say in the matter.
None of the human brides did.
She uncovered her face and inhaled several deep breaths in an effort to calm herself. The murmur of voices, the familiar song her sister was playing on the piano, and the clattering of dishes drifted upstairs. Everyone would start to worry about her if she didn’t go back downstairs soon.
She really should have tried to remain at her going away party, but the second her younger sister, Julie, had started playing the piano several minutes ago, Nova had had to excuse herself and rush upstairs. The knowledge that she would never hear Julie play piano again or hug her or laugh with her had hit Nova with a sudden, painful force that left her reeling with heartache.
Of course, if Nova hadn’t been chosen at a young age for the eventualhonorof becoming a Tarkkuan’s bride, her parents would have never been granted permission to have a second child. Julie would have never been born. Saying goodbye to her sister would be especially bittersweet.
After a few more minutes, Nova managed to stop crying. She sat in front of her mirror and reapplied her makeup. Everyone at the party was sad enough that she was leaving. She didn’t want to add to their upset by walking around with swollen eyes.
Once, as a little girl, Nova had heard sobbing and followed the noise to her parents’ bedroom. She had peeked in and witnessed her father holding her mother, while her mother repeated over and over again, “I don’t want Nova to leave, I don’t want Nova to leave…” It was a week after she’d been chosen as a Tarkkuan bride, when she was almost too young to understand what it meant. But she remembered attending a ceremony in the center of New Leesburg and hearing her name called on a loud speaker. Her mother had gasped but many in the crowd had clapped, and then Nova had been escorted up onto a platform and introduced to the elderly Tarkkuan teacher who would take over her schooling from then on.
“I don’t want Nova to leave, I don’t want Nova to leave…”
Her mother’s despair had burned into Nova’s psyche.
From that point forward, she had resolved to put on a brave face and not let anyone know how frightened and nervous she was over leaving her home planet. She stopped asking questions that might upset her mother and she never dared voice her desire to remain on Earth.
Instead, she’d focused on her Tarkkuan studies with a forced enthusiasm and tried to act cheerful whenever the subject of her leaving came up naturally in conversation. Most of the time, she would smile and claim she was excited to embark upon an interstellar adventure.
Apparently, she was a good actress. Just this morning, her mother had hugged her and told her how much she admired her positive attitude.
She sighed, knowing she had to hurry up and go back downstairs and maintain the façade. Even if she screamed to the entire dome-city that she didn’t wish to leave, the Tarkkuan security guards from the spaceship would force her onto their vessel anyway. Her opinion didn’t matter and it would matter even less once she reached the alien planet.
With another glance at the moon and stars, Nova straightened her dress and exited her bedroom. She descended the stairs and joined in the party, her smile in place the entire time. She made a point to talk to everyone in attendance, even friends of her parents that she didn’t know very well. She soaked up each kind word and about a thousand hugs, by some miracle managing not to break down into tears again.
Maybe she was stronger than she thought. Maybe years of pretending to be strong had in fact left her fortified and ready to face this next, inevitable phase of her life. She could only hope.
“How are you holding up?” Maggie asked, appearing at Nova’s side with two pieces of cake. With a mischievous grin, she handed one plate to Nova, along with a fork.
“Thanks. And I’m fine. Promise.” Nova gave her best friend a smile and realized her cheeks were starting to hurt from smiling so much. She stabbed her fork into the cake and took a bite, savoring the taste of the homemade icing.
Maggie lifted her eyebrows at Nova and her expression turned skeptical. “I know you better than anyone. You’re not fine, but it’s okay to be scared. Anyone would be. Just remember the Tarkkuans need us as much as we need them. Your new husband is probably anxious for your arrival and I’m sure he’ll treat you well. I know a lot of people think all Tarkkuans are barbarians, but I don’t think that’s true. Not all of them, anyway. For the sake of my best friend, I refuse to believe it.”
Nova glanced around to make sure no one was standing close enough to overhear their conversation. She allowed her smile to falter and gave her friend a solemn look. “I’m really going to miss you.”
“I know.” Maggie blinked rapidly as tears filled her eyes. She reached for Nova’s hand and squeezed it. “Besties for life.”
“Besties for life.”
They set their dessert down and enveloped one another in a long, tight hug. A few tears escaped Nova’s eyes, but she discreetly wiped them away, thankful that she was facing a wall and no one was standing nearby. Maggie seemed to know just how long to hug her, because she didn’t withdraw from the embrace until Nova had managed to regain her composure.
The party ended around midnight and Nova was exhausted by the time the house emptied out. Only her parents and sister remained. They all exchanged looks and started cleaning up from the party, but Nova’s mother put a hand on her shoulder and shook her head.
“You don’t need to help. Go ahead to bed. You have an early start in the morning.” Her mother smiled, though tears glimmered in her eyes, revealing her true feelings. She was just as heartbroken as Nova.“I don’t want Nova to leave, I don’t want Nova to leave…”
“I want to help,” Nova replied in a cheerful voice. “Besides, I can take a nap on the ship tomorrow.” She suspected lots of human brides would board the Tarkkuan spaceship dead tired after staying up late to spend extra time with their loved ones. “Honestly, Mom, I can’t imagine even going to sleep tonight. I’m too…excited.” Another forced smile.
Julie walked up to them, holding a stack of dirty plates. “I don’t think I could sleep either. How about you have a sleepover in my room, minus the sleep?” She laughed. “It’ll be just like when we were kids.”
